Penang theme park developer Sim Leisure Group made its Catalist debut on the Singapore bourse yesterday, opening at $0.17 apiece - 22.7 per cent lower than its initial public offering (IPO) price of $0.22 per share. The counter closed at $0.169 apiece.

Sim Leisure Group on Thursday placed out 26.4 million shares at $0.22 apiece to raise a total of $5.81 million.

The bulk of its IPO proceeds, or $5.6 million, will be used to fully redeem outstanding preference shares held by state government entity Penang Development Corp, the group said.

The IPO placed about one-fifth of the company in public hands, while Sim Leisure Group founder and chief executive Sim Choo Kheng and his spouse Silviya Georgieva will hold a combined 78.4 per cent stake.

The group runs two theme parks in Penang with a third set to open in the first half this year. It also has plans to expand into China and South-east Asia, such as Bangkok and Jakarta.

Chief executive Mr Sim said: "Listing on the Singapore Exchange will increase our visibility, and provide us with the impetus to scale our business model into new markets."

SGX's head of equity capital markets Mohamed Nasser Ismail said the rise in spending power, tourism and infrastructure investments in the region could bode well for the theme and amusement park industry.

Sim Leisure Group has a market cap of about $30 million.